They make a great stocking stuffer
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Who would buy these?
They won’t have a blooper reel and you can’t get them at Blockbuster, but Illinois House proceedings are now available on DVD.
In recent years the chamber’s sessions have been broadcast live on the Internet. As of Wednesday, the sessions are being recorded and copied to DVD for anyone who wants them.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, decided to archive the sessions and sell copies to make following state government easier, said spokesman Steve Brown. Some people could find the recordings interesting, he added.
“We’ve got a sense that what we do here has a bit of history surrounding it,'’ Brown said.
Each disc from the House clerk’s office will cost $5.
Bill Black probably has the answer to my question.
Still, Rep. Bill Black is concerned that the recordings may be put to political uses. The Danville Republican said footage could be edited, or even altered electronically, to make a lawmaker look bad and then used in a negative campaign commercial.
“We always worry about being taken out of context,'’ Black said. “But if you do that to a digital video disc and use it as a campaign commercial it could be devastating.'’
Brown said the House will do its best to prevent improper use of the video recordings by branding a logo onto the picture. But he said technology is such that if someone wanted to make an attack ad based on what goes on in the Legislature they “could probably create a virtual House debate with computers and graphics.'’
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Charlie sez
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
My ol’ buddy Charlie Johnston has one of the best analysis pieces I’ve ever seen at the Leader. I don’t agree with everything, of course, but it’s darned good.
A little taste:
Why, then, haven’t more county chairmen made common cause with dissenting conservative organizations? Bluntly, the caustic rhetoric and corrosive tactics of some movement conservatives have left county chairmen leery.
They suspect many movement conservatives would be more at home on a demolition crew than on a construction crew. Whatever their problems with the institutional party, they want to fix it; not destroy it.
This opens a great opportunity, both for movement conservatives and for the establishment, over the next year. If movement conservatives can tone down their rhetoric and demonstrate a credible approach to building a majority party they will find a lot of unexpected allies in the ranks of the county chairmen.
Similarly, if the top establishment can re-connect with county chairmen, entering into genuinely collegial dialogue and showing as much concern for what the chairmen need from the party as for what the party demands from them, it can re-cement the chairmen to the traditional party process. Neither side seems particularly poised to pull off such a diplomatic coup.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think the “movement” types will ever tone down their acts. Still, Charlie’s piece is a good roadmap for McKenna.
By the way, I don’t know the woman next to Charlie, but I’m sure the CrossBlogger hounds are now on the case. It says on this website that she’s a “press secretary/webmaster.” In other words, Dring and Rhodes could both be replaced in one fell swoop. On second thought, maybe they won’t do any further research.
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Piling on
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Hey, Larry, if you think his photo is weird, wait until you hear about his tooth
Syverson is a Republican who says he’s so dedicated to the cause that seven years ago he got a tattoo of the GOP’s elephant logo on one of his upper molars.
Yep, a molar tattoo.
OK, feeling guilty for piling on (and the pangs hit quicker than I expected - I must be getting soft in my dotage). Really, he doesn’t look so bad in this photo.
UPDATE 2: OK, I can’t help myself. This is from a 1997 edition of the Rockford Register Star. Sorry, no link.
‘Tattooth’ fame earns dentist TV appearance
ROCKFORD — Dave Syverson’s upper molar — the one adorned with a “tattooth” of the Republican Party emblem — has become the talk of the town, the state capital and the nation.
A story about the state senator’s red, white and blue porcelain elephant appeared Sunday in the New York Times, and the Family Channel is flying the dentist who implanted the GOP-festooned crown to Los Angeles to appear Monday on the cable station’s “Home and Family” show.
“I’ve got the most famous tooth in the country,” Syverson joked Wednesday.
The conservative legislator’s trendy dental work also was a hit at the Boone and Winnebago county fairs.
“People were standing in line to see his tattooth,” said Gloria Franklin, Syverson’s legislative aide. “It’s been unbelievable.”
The tattooth isn’t easily visible: Syverson has to stick his finger in his mouth and pull his lip aside to display it.
Since the tattooth story broke last week, Syverson’s office has been flooded with telephone calls, including several from colleagues in Springfield who wanted to tease him after reading about his racy conduct in the newspaper.
The 40-year-old senator was a guest on radio station WMAQ in Chicago and has more big-city radio interviews scheduled for next week.
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Dick Walsh
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Condolences to the family and many friends of Dick Walsh, who passed away this week. He was 74.
The wake is Thursday, from 3-9 at Dreschler, Brown and Williams funeral home in Oak Park. The funeral is Friday at 11 at St. Lukes in River Forest.
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Madigan interview link
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Here’s the link I promised in today’s Capitol Fax. And here are the relevant paragraphs:
SPEAKER MADIGAN: I think we ought to spend a lot of time on electric utility deregulation because, although Illinois appears to have successfully transitioned to deregulation, there’s a lot of serious issues to be addressed in terms of electric utility deregulation.
Number one would be the rate freeze that was put in place. At the time, it was argued that this would be beneficial for ratepayers, especially residential ratepayers. Over time, a legitimate question has been put, “Well, although we put a lid on what the rates might be, we may have also put a floor on what the rates could be.†And competition over the last couple years, without the rate freeze, may have driven those rates lower than they are right now.
In addition, we provided for what they call stranded costs at the time of the electric utility deregulation, which is an industry way of saying that the mistakes of the utility companies, notably Commonwealth Edison, in building nuclear plants would be paid for by the ratepayers. We did that.
Having done that, having done the rate freeze, you’re now looking at a cliff, in terms of where you go with cost for the utility companies and for the rates.
In the case of the telephone companies, there has been a great change in telephone service. You probably carry a cell phone. And so all of that should be reviewed now, rather than later, because of the dramatic changes in the industry and technology.
ILLINOIS ISSUES: The argument is that a move to a more free-market system would benefit everyone?
MADIGAN: And in the case of the phone regulation — privately, I put the question, and I guess I’ll put it publicly right now: Why couldn’t we follow the model that we followed in electric utility deregulation, where, in essence, we made Commonwealth Edison and the other distribution companies common carriers and took them out of the generation business. Why couldn’t we just make SBC a common carrier for distribution and take them out of the other aspects of it. I’m sure they have some kind of response, but I think it’s a question that ought to be put.
If you were to do that, then there’s a little more rhyme and reason to this idea that they’re deregulated, but the legislature or the Commerce Commission is setting the rate for wholesale sales from people like SBC to the others.
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Dylan diversion
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
 A couple of months ago I ran across a bootleg Bob Dylan website. Every few weeks, some guy in Japan uploads new songs, mostly rehearsal tapes and studio outtakes.
There are plenty of Dylan bootleg sites out there, but this one is quite special. Most of the stuff I’ve heard so far is superior to just about anything Dylan has formally released. It’s far more relaxed and less self-important than his commercial recordings, and less distracted and choppy than his concert performances. And the recordings are a higher quality than most of the Basement Tapes.
Tonight, while waiting for a bad case of writer’s block to pass, I’ve been listening to outtakes from his 1983 album Infidels. There are three versions of “Sweetheart like you,” for instance (one of my favorite Dylan tunes), and you can listen as the lyrics evolve.
Got to be an important person to be in here, honey,
Got to have done some evil deed,
Got to have your own harem when you come in the door,
Got to play your harp until your lips bleed.
My absolute favorite track, however, is a jarring bloozy version of “You’re a big girl now” from a concert rehearsal in the late 1970s. Dylan perfectly captures the essence of the song in a way that he didn’t even approach in the commercial release. I never quite understood until I heard the bootleg that it was a great blues tune.
I’m going out of my mind,
With a pain that stops and starts
Like a corkscrew to my heart
Ever since we’ve been apart.
The latest upload from our mystery Japanese guy is a 1988 New York concert bootleg. It’s OK, but I prefer the studio and rehearsal tapes.
I won’t link to the site for fear of getting sued by some giant media monster, but I might be convinced to send you the link if you email me and ask in a nice way. Or, you could just follow the first link in this post and figure it out for yourself.
They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail,
Steal a lot and they make you king.
There’s only one step down from here, baby,
It’s called the land of permanent bliss.
What’s a sweetheart like you doin’ in a dump like this?
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Finally, some good news
Wednesday, Jan 26, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
After losing thousands of jobs in the past four years, the Rockford area is finally catching a break. 1,000 high-paying factory jobs at Chrysler, plus lots of suppliers are building new plants in the area.
DaimlerChrysler Corp. will invest $419 million to upgrade the aging Belvidere assembly plant, adding up to 1,000 new jobs and a second production shift which will start in March 2006. […]
Halprin said when the work is completed the plant would increase production from one shift to two for the first time since 2000. […]
After refurbishing, the factory will manufacture a replacement for the Dodge Neon, which will cease production in September 2005.
The state will kick in $36 million, which works out to about $36 thousand per job, not including all the other new positions created by suppliers and construction. That’s not terribly huge, considering some of the other schemes that have been tried in the past.
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Huh?
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Would someone translate this, please? (Emphasis added):
Ohio je “swing” state, u kojoj je pobedio svaki republikanski kandidat koji je postao predsednik. Ima veliki broj blue collar glasova, koji su takodje i pod jakim uticajem sindikata. Otud vaznost ovoj drzavi.
Neznam ko, neko je skoro na ovom forumu pljuvao po Ohaju kao o devetoj rupi na svirali, i manje vaznom od Illinoisa. Pogresno. Illinois je okorelo dummocratski, ovog puta jos vise nego ikad ranije, i to zbog idiotizma lokalnih republikanaca koji su izgubili i downstate. Milorad Blagojevich pokusava da bude novi Bil Klinton, da bude sve svakome - ali u jednopartijskoj drzavi kao sto je Illinois sad najvise ima problema unutar svoje partije. I sa kamiondzijama koje ce u top da ga stave zbog najavljenog poskupljenja putarina.
Kako god, dodje novembar - Illinois i Michigan su Kerrijevi, Wisconinsin, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana su ‘up for grabs’.
Tipujem Kerry dobija Iowu, Bush Wisconsin i Ohio. I pobedjuje.
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Quote of the week
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Regarding Governor Rod Blagojevich:
“Everything he’s doing seems to be directed toward a run for the presidency,” said one frequent critic, Sen. Denny Jacobs, a Democrat from East Moline. “I think he needs to govern.”
Runner up is from a commenter in my post about Ron Gidwitz’s announcement that he is forming an exploratory committee for governor:
This is sort of like the George Pataki for President movement; An answer for a question that no one has asked.
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Archpundit returns
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
After a long hiatus, Archpundit finally returns to blogging today with some posts about new voting equipment for Chicago. Welcome back, dude. We missed you.
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“Hope”
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
I received this email today:
U.S. Senator Barack Obama today filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to create a political action committee to raise money for local, state and federal Democratic candidates in Illinois and throughout the country.
The political action committee is called HOPE FUND, named after the phrase “audacity of hope†in Obama’s keynote speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston.
HOPE FUND expects to make its first donations this Spring.
That ought to gin up the speculation about Obama’s future plans somewhat.
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Starved Rock throwdown
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
As I noted in the Capitol Fax today, the folks who run the private foundation for Starved Rock State Park are not happy campers. They recently sent this letter to the Freeport Journal-Standard:
As elected directors of the Board of the Starved Rock Historical & Educational Foundation, we are outraged at the layoff of the National Resource Coordinator, the resulting elimination of two seasonal site interpreters, and the reduction in force of other park staff at Starved Rock State Park. The Starved Rock Historical and Educational Foundation is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation. The purpose of the foundation is to facilitate the Visitor Center Program that includes education, conservation and recreation. We raise monies through membership, donations and profits from our 100 percent volunteer-run LeRocher Book Shop. During 2004 the foundation’s volunteer program, with more than 115 participants logging 4,731 hours, also provided hike leaders, trail walkers, information desk workers and raised more than $15,000 for benches around the visitor center, materials, equipment and programs. They go on to explain the problem:
When planning the $4.5 million, 12,000 square feet visitor center, it was agreed by all, including those in Springfield, that it would be staffed with three site interpreters, three seasonal interpreters, one clerical and one maintenance person. That staffing plan was never implemented. Starved Rock has lost six of 21 full-time employees since 2000, the visitor center lost three of its four staff as of Jan. 14, and will be down to a single employee! The Band-Aid approach of taking others away from their already understaffed positions, and bringing them into staff the visitor center is ludicrous!
And here’s the threat:
A single employee in the visitor center cannot adequately meet the needs of the public. Special events cannot be run with this reduction in staff. Volunteers are here to supplement not replace permanent staff! Therefore, foundation members and volunteers will NOT be available to work special events until the needs and safety of the public are met by reinstating the positions at the visitor center.
Angry, angry people.
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No. Yes. No. Yes.
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Is this a flip or a flop?
Just a year ago, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY’-uh-vitch) said he wanted to end exceptions to daily physical education classes in public schools.
Now his State Board of Education is suggesting ways to make it easier for schools to eliminate P-E. A report to the Legislature says state law could be changed to allow automatic exemptions in certain cases like for kids who play sports.
Spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch (ROWSH’) says Blagojevich is not reversing his position. She says Blagojevich believes schools should require physical activity but he is willing to help them eliminate bureaucracy to cut PE classes.
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Yeesh
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Disgusting.
A trial date of Feb. 28 has been set for James Camden, the 44-year-old Murphysboro man accused of attacking a referee during football game more than 17 months ago.
Camden is accused of attacking veteran Southern Illinois official Mike Byrne of Marion on Sept. 22, 2003, during a sophomore football game at West Frankfort. […]
The incident took place with approximately two minutes left in the first half and with West Frankfort ahead by three touchdowns. Byrne stopped the game and told fellow referee and crew chief Tony Gualdoni of Herrin that he was ejecting a Murphysboro fan (Camden) for unsportsman-like behavior that included a continuous barrage of harassment and vulgar language directed at the officiating crew and the players.
After notifying Gualdoni, Byrne then notified West Frankfort athletic director Richard Glodich that he wanted Camden removed from the field. According to the police report that was filed, as Glodich approached the Murphysboro bleachers Camden allegedly ran past a restraining wire leading to the field and grabbed Byrne around the neck with both hands.
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Gidwitz
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
In a decision that had been rumored for months, Chicago businessman Ronald Gidwitz is forming an exploratory committee, the first formal step toward a possible race for governor in 2006.
“Our children are not getting the education they need. Our jobs and doctors are leaving the state,†says Mr. Gidwitz in a statement posted on his new web site: ron2006.com. “I know we can do better. That’s why I’m considering a run to represent you—all of Illinois—as your Republican governor.â€
Discuss at will.
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Madigan expands police powers
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
I can imagine what more libertarian bloggers are gonna say about this, and I’ll probably agree with much of it.
The Supreme Court gave police broader search powers Monday during traffic stops, ruling in an Illinois case that drug-sniffing dogs can be used to check out motorists even if officers have no reason to suspect they might be carrying narcotics.
In a 6-2 decision, the court sided with Illinois police who stopped Roy Caballes in 1998 along Interstate 80 for driving 6 miles over the speed limit. Although Caballes lawfully produced his driver’s license, troopers brought over a drug dog after Caballes seemed nervous.
The dog sniffed out $250,000 worth of marijuana in Caballes’ trunk. The Las Vegas resident was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 12 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the troopers improperly broadened an ordinary traffic stop.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, despite having limited trial experience, personally argued the case before the Supreme Court.
I think one of the morals here is if you’ve got a quarter million dollars of weed in your trunk, drive the friggin’ speed limit.
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Jackson and Hizzoner
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Two columns on Congressman Jesse Jackson’s recent comments about Mayor Daley and the city council sheep.
One, by the Southtown’s Phil Kadner, has some realism buried deep down in the piece:
What Jackson doesn’t realize is that many of the voices urging him to run today will be cheering for Daley tomorrow.
These are the same folks in the news media who denounce Daley for using O’Hare Airport as a personal cash station but then urge the federal government to give him billions of dollars for O’Hare expansion.
Business leaders, who benefit from Chicago’s graft themselves, will put millions in Daley’s political warchest.
Reporters will be scouring the Jackson family history for dirt.
Run, Jesse, run, as fast as your legs can carry you back to Washington, D.C.
Run for mayor and there will be three other black candidates in the race before you can say, “What’s that other Jesse Jackson Jr. doing on the ticket again?”
That’s exactly right.
The other, by the Sun-Times’ Mark Brown, is more encouraging for the congressman:
Jackson volunteers that his remarks come at a time when Daley has been interfering with his top priority: the proposal to build a south suburban airport. In particular, he says Daley has applied behind the scenes pressure for him to abandon the two northwest suburban communities — Bensenville and Elk Grove Village — that so far have bankrolled the third-airport effort.
This is a tricky business for Jackson. If he’s serious about the problems in Daley’s set-aside program, he’ll need to follow through.
If it turns out he’s just using the controversy to get what he wants on the airport, he’ll eventually be sorry he spoke up.
I look forward to hearing him more.
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Jacobs
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
Still nothing official, and still no target date, but Sen. Denny Jacobs is inching closer to retirement.
After more than three decades in public service, State Sen. Denny Jacobs is seriously thinking about retirement.
Jacobs, a Democrat from East Moline, Ill., told the Clinton Herald in a telephone interview Friday he is about ready to end a 33-year career as an elected official. He has spent almost 20 years as a state senator in a district that includes the western part of Carroll and Whiteside counties.
“It’s time for new blood,” Jacobs said. “It’s a new system out there and it’s time for young minds to come to bear.” […]
“My son has been with me all along,” Jacobs said. “He knows how I think and he’ll be able to pick up some of the things that I’ve been carrying and carry on into the future. But that will be up to the committee chairmen. We have met with them and hopefully that’s who their decision will be.”
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Abortion stuff
Monday, Jan 24, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller
This article lays out the abortion issue in Illinois pretty well.
The start of President Bush’s second term is encouraging for anti-abortion forces and dismaying to abortion rights advocates.
But both sides agree on one thing: It will be several years before any major push to outlaw abortion comes to Illinois — if it does at all.
“Four years is a realistic best case scenario for my group,” said Ralph Rivera, director of Illinois Citizens for Life, an anti-abortion group that was buoyed by Bush’s re-election and the addition of four more GOP members to the U.S. Senate in November. […]
Rivera said he’s approaching the looming battle methodically.
“It’s like watching a football game and the first guy who scores a touchdown goes nuts. You say, ‘What is he doing? The game’s not over,’” said Rivera. “This is just the first or second step. You don’t go nuts until the final step. And even then you’ve got to be vigilant.”
Similarly, abortion rights groups are taking a step-by-step approach to the situation.
Soon after the election, Planned Parenthood began pushing Illinois lawmakers to approve a measure that would ensure Illinois will continue to follow the tenets of Roe v. Wade in the event each state is given the opportunity to decide whether abortion is legal.
Observers say Planned Parenthood is unlikely to have much success in that campaign.
“In the status quo, it might be hard to pass such a bill,” said Steve Brown, a spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, a Catholic who considers himself an abortion foe.
Read the whole thing. It’s a good one.
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